College Basketball’s Sweet 16 Ranked by Best Local Music

Los Angeles is the winner of the big (um) dance, CBS Sports says

The annual college basketball March Madness tournament starts its Sweet 16 round of games tonight, and in its honor, CBS Sports has ranked each school’s city by its music scene. With teams from all around the country squaring off for the NCAA title, the list manages to include Beck, N.W.A., Tom Waits, Kim Deal, Guided By Voices, the Stooges, Slint, Ashlee Simpson, Calexico, Garbage, and many more. And while we have our quibbles — we don’t expect a college basketball writer to know about Maximum Ames Records any more than you’d expect us to have compelling thoughts about how well Michigan State has been playing since its players got healthy again (oh, but we do!) — it’s a fun read. Let the arguments start here. President Obama, you’re invited to weigh in, too.

12. East Lansing, Michigan (Michigan State). Who they name: The Verve Pipe and (sort of) Stevie Wonder. Who they’re missing: John Olson of noise groups Wolf Eyes and Dead Machines, plus the tape label American Tapes, is from East Lansing. Listen to Wolf Eyes’ “Village Oblivia” below.

11. Knoxville, Tennessee (Tennessee). Who they name: Kenny Chesney, Atticus, Superdrag. Who they’re missing: Royal Bangs. The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney produced the band’s 2013 album Brass, and you can hear “Octagon” below.

9. Lexington, Kentucky (Kentucky). Who they name: Vince Gill, Naomi Judd, Sunday Best, John Michael Montgomery, and (sort of) the Backstreet Boys, plus a whole lot of bluegrass. Who they’re missing: Richard Hell grew up there, for one. And plenty of bands call nearby Louisville home, which we’ll get to later. Listen to Hell and the Voidoids’ “Blank Generation” below.

8. Charlottesville, Virginia. Who they name: Dave Matthews Band, Son of Bill, the Hackensaw Boys, with passing mentions of Modest Mouse, Yo La Tengo, and Pavement. Who they’re missing: Well, for starters, they’re really burrying the lede on Pavement. And if we’re talking Virginia, Clipse’s Pusha T and No Malice are from Virginia Beach, as are the Neptunes’ Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, plus Timbaland. Though DMB’s Carter Beauford is a chopsy drummer and all. Watch Pavement’s “Gold Soundz” video below.